Race Car Patrol

Roadhandler, Swindler

Prelude: Ah, yes, the Micromaster Race Car Patrol. Four little robots that lie on their bellies and flip in their legs to become cars. What? Oh, sorry. I meant to say TWO little robots that lie on their bellies and flip in their legs to become cars. Roadhandler and Swindler. Never mind Freewheeler and Tailspin, maybe we’ll see them later.

Robot Modes: Roadhandler comes in red and yellow, while Swindler comes in grey. Both Micromasters are about as well-articulated as can be expected in this size class, featuring knee joints, as well as ball-jointed shoulders and legs. No elbows, sadly. Detailing is also quite good for the size, so no complaints here. Overall I’d say Roadhandler is the better robot, both because he features the more interesting paint job, as well as Swindler being somewhat hampered by those huge shoulders of his. Not much more I can write here that the pictures don’t tell better. Two nice little robots, no complaints.

Alternate Modes: As you’d expect given the team name, the two Micromasters become cars. Now I’d call them sports cars rather than race cars, but there already is a Sports Car Patrol (in Siege, too, featuring repaints of Roadhandler and Swindler, actually). Anyway, both Micromasters transform identically, basically lying down on their bellies and flipping in their legs. This is where the already flimsy notion that the Siege robots are supposed to be pre-Earth forms of our favorite characters really falls apart, seeing as these are clearly Earth vehicles, a Pontiac Firebird for Roadhandler and a DeLorean DMC-12 for Swindler. They do look good for their size, though, so no complaints here.

Now, though, we come to the weapon modes and this is where Roadhandler and Swindler very much disappoint when compared to the other Siege Micromasters we’ve seen so far. Both robots can become weapons on their own, if by weapons you man cars with robot legs flipped-out. The two weapons can also combine into one, if by combine you mean one being placed halfway on top of the other. Short version here: skip the weapon mode. Pretend it’s not there at all if you can.

Remarks: The Micromaster Race Car Patrol were among the first and most prolific Autobot Micromasters. In the Marvel comics Roadhandler even participated in a wrestling show, which somehow involved some Decepticon plot or other. This saw a human wrestler lifting and slamming him, not really sure how that could possibly have worked. Anyway, Roadhandler also played a major role in Dreamwave’s Micromaster miniseries. And Swindler was... also there, I guess. Probably along with Freewheeler and Tailspin.

I was never a big fan of the G1 Micromasters, but I love seeing them back in Siege. That said, the Race Car Patrol comes in a distant third when compared to the other two Micromaster Patrols in wave one. The robots are good and the car modes are decent, if a bit boring, but the weapon mode is a complete failure. So bottom line: still nice, but unless you are interested in collecting all of the Siege Micromasters, I’d recommend looking at the Air Strike and Battle Patrol first.